First to Kill
by Katen Kagutsuchi
Summary: As Aang struggles with what he should do about firelord Ozai, Avatar Yangchen tells him to speak to another of his past lives. Avatar Anoh appears and takes Aang on a journey through on of the key moments in his life as a Avatar. This is my first fanfiction, hope u like it...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I: Avatar Anoh

Aang stared into the Avatar Yangchens eye's. They looked very sad and searching.

"Aang, perhaps it will help you solve this problem if you spoke to another air nomad avatar." Her eyes went from sad to sheer certainness in an instant as the words left her lips.

"Who?"

"The first air nomad to take a life; Avatar Anoh." She faded away as she said his name, leaving Aang with an uncertain feeling in his heart. He never heard of one of his people ever killing someone, and the thought of it being an avatar only made his feelings of shame that much worse.

Aang could only stare at the empty space where his past lives appeared to give their wisdoms on his problem. He pondered on what to do; should he call Avatar Anoh as Yangchen suggest, and hear how one of his past lives killed someone. How could he? He spent his life living by what the monks taught him, that all life is sacred and it's the Avatars duty to protect balance of the world. He then remembered that Avatar Yangchen told him that as the avatar he must sacrifice his own spiritual needs to protect the world.

Aang closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his connection with all his past lives and whispered, "Avatar Anoh, please, I need your guidance to defeat the Firelord." A familiar feeling rushed through his body and a cool breezed blew past him. When he opened his eyes he saw a middle aged bald man, with tattoos on his head and hands, dressed in air nomad robes staring kindly back into his eyes. Though Aang has never seen this man before, he couldn't help but feel a deep connection with him. His snow white beard was breaded tight, which made it seem so long that it would drag across the floor if he were to get up and walk.

"Hello Aang. It's good to finally meet you, young airbender." Anohs' voice was deep and strong, but it also had a fragil and kind tone hidden deep within.

Aang took a deep breath before he spoke. "Avatar Anoh, I was told that maybe you could help me. All my other past lives I've talked to have told me the same things. That if I'm going to save the world from the Fire nation, I have to kill the Firelord. But I still don't think I could do it."

Anoh studied Aang for a moment before replying. He lowered his head as he spoke, "Yes, I too struggled with this question just as many past Avatars have. Unfortunately for me, the choice was not so simple. For you to understand this, I must tell you my story." He reach out his hand. Aang reached forward and as he touched Anohs' hand he felt his spirit leaving his body behind. The scene around them changed and they were flying on the back of a giant eagle high above the clouds.

"Where are we going?" Aang asked sounding completely confused.

"To the place where I was born, the Eastern Air Temple." The eagle descended quickly. They emerged out of the clouds heading down toward a familiar sight; the Eastern Air Temple looked the same hundreds of as it does now.

When they were close enough, Aang could see lots of female airbenders walking around, meditating, and young girls playing games. They were dressed in the usual tan and orange robes. Their heads were half shaven and the older ones wore beaded necklaces with the Air Nation symbol at the end. As it was when he visited Rokus' past, everyone ignored them as they landed in the middle of a busy court yard.

"Wow, I never knew there were so many people living here." He felt his smile go from ear to ear as he looked around in amazement. "You were born here?"

"Yes, several centuries before you were born." The court yard spun around and changed into the inside of a small room filled with a small group of people. They stood around a single bed in the center of the room. A woman lying there with a baby sleeping deeply in her arms.

"What are you going to name him Yincha?" one of the women asked.

"I think Anoh. Yeah, that's a good name." She rocked him back and forth in her arms and began to sing as he slept.

"I lived here for about two years," The scene changed before he continued. "then I was sent to the Northern Air Temple to begin my airbending training." Aang looked around as an older Anoh was standing in front of three masters.

He took a ready stance, leaped forward and pushed a powerful stream of air at nine candles lined on a table at the end of the yard. All but the center candle had been blown out by the wind. Judging from the pleased looks on the three monks' faces, Aang guessed that was the point. "Very good Anoh, your training is nearly complete." They bowed to him, and he bowed back in respect.

"I had mastered airbending when I was only fifteen, and for the next year received special advance training from the grand monk himself." More memories of Anohs' training appeared. He was with a much older looking man now, doing things with airbending Aang had never seen or thought possible before.

"So you were a natural at airbending, huh?" Aang said with a little jealousy in his voice.

"That's what the monks thought. But I prefer to think I just worked really hard." He smiled cheerfully as he continued watching himself train with his old master. "Come, there is much to see."

He led Aang up a path to the building at the very top of the mountain. Anoh was sitting in before five monks sitting cross legged. Aang recognized three as the same ones from the airbending test, and middle one was the grand master. The last one he did not know. "The day I turned sixteen, the monks told me that I was the Avatar."

"Anoh, I know this comes as a surprise to," said the grand monk. "but we have known this since the day u arrived here. You picked these three toys from thousands because they were familiar to you. Each one belonged to a past Avatar; your past lives."

Anoh looked down and said nothing for a moment. When he looked up again he asked, "So what happens to me now?"

"Now you must face your destiny by traveling to the other nations and mastering the other three elements. The world needs the Avatar to help keep it in balance." They stood up together and filed out of the room, leaving Anoh alone with his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: Training

Aang stared back at the Northern Air Temple as they flew away. He remembered when the monks first told him he was the Avatar, how alone and different he felt. "So, how did you feel when they told you? You know, that you were the Avatar and all?"

He saw Avatar Anoh smile before he answered. "The same as you. Like suddenly I was alone and carried the weight of the entire world on my shoulders."

He didn't turn to look, but he knew Aang felt better knowing someone else understood what that felt like. "Aang, all Avatars feel like that when we first hear those same words. Spend our entire life up to that point thinking we know exactly who we are. Only to find out there's more to us than we ever imagined."

"But why wait until we turn sixteen? Why not just tell us soon and begin our training sooner?"

"I don't know Aang. I guess it's because they want us to be a child first, and enjoy the simple part of life before we take on this burdon."

Aang didn't respond for a moment. He remembered all the great times he had as a kid; playing airbending games, flying on his glider and hanging with Appa. And he remembered Gyatso. "I guess you're right."

They continued flying above the ocean toward their next destination.

"A few days after they told me I was the Avatar, the monks sent me to the Northern Water Tribe to begin my training in waterbending." They landed on a huge glacier overlooking the village Aang had visited himself not long ago. "My waterbending master, Polok, was the best teacher of his time. And within 3 years I mastered waterbending."

Aang looked down and saw Anoh squaring off with them man who must have been master Polok. Anoh was again older. His head was still bald, but he had short goatee now and was wearing a large dark blue parka.

Polok was tall with bags under his eyes. He had long grey hair with part of it tied together at the top. Aang couldn't believe it, but the man looked very familiar. "Hey your waterbending teacher looks just like my teacher; Master Pakku."

"Of course. Polok is Pakkus' ancestor." Aangs jaw dropped after that. He stared down as the two began their waterbending battle.

Polok summoned a huge cyclone of water and surrounded his opponent. Anoh was easily washed away by the force of the cyclone as it hit him and landed in a nearby pool. "Polok didn't believe in starting slow or going easy in battle. But I think that just made him a better teacher in the end."

The younger Anoh burst from the pool on a giant pillar of spinning water. He raised his hands and the water from the other pools erupted into more giant pillars of water. He collapsed them onto his opponent and the force carried him all the way to the roof of the furthest building.

Anoh road the spinning pillar up to where Polok landed then stepped down next to him. The two smiled and bowed to each other in respect; Anohs' waterbending training was now over.

The scene disappeared and was replaced by a new memory.

Aang recognized this place too. "Hey this is Omashu. My friend Bomi grew up here."

"This was the second stop on my journey as Avatar. Earthbending was especially hard for me, as I'm sure you can relate." People appeared before them. They were in a circle surrounding someone with a bald head, wearing a blind fold and no shirt.

Now even older, Anohs' goatee was now longer and breaded tight. His body was built and had a few scars.

He stood in the middle of the circle waiting for someone to make a move. It came suddenly in the form of a small boulder flying at his head. He dodged it and countered by sending a quake that exploded into a stalactite, punching his attacker in the chest and knocked him into the closest building. The ground below him pushed up and he sprang to the side to avoid being forced into the air.

Anoh felt and evaded every attack as it came. He used earthbending to create walls to stop large rocks, shift the surroundings to trap his opponents in holes, and push them away with more quakes.

He was quickly down to one opponent, a beautiful young girl with long black hair and hard green eyes. Seeing her friends go down one by one didn't seem to affect the determined look she had to win.

The two went one on one for a while. Attack, defend, counter attack, and evade; none stop.

"Wow, that girl's pretty good." Aang said with some intimidation in his voice.

"Mako. She and I studied under Li Wu, my earthbending teacher. She was strong willed, beautiful, and determined. And I loved her more than I could ever tell you." Aang notice a tear in his eye as he talked about her.

He turned back to find the fight was over. Mako's body was buried in the ground up to her chin. She looked frustrated and was struggling to get free, but to no avail.

They watched his younger self bow to a short man with a scar on his right eye, wearing earth kingdom armor. "Congratulations on completing your training Avatar Anoh."

"Thank you Master Li Wu."

"Yeah, congratulations arrow head!" Mako now suddenly free, jumped and hugged Anohs' neck from behind.

He turned to face her was met with a kiss that made him seem to glow as if he were suddenly in the avatar state.

"Maybe now you can take me on that date you promised me."

"I think that can be arranged." They kissed again as the memory faded.

The next memory found them on an island beach.

"My last stop was the Fire Nation. Here I spent years mastering fire bending under the Fire Sages." He pointed across the beach to where his memory showed him fighting another old man. "Master Jin taught me that firebending was about life and control."

As he spoke the memory continued to play. He fought hard against his master. Fire flashed with every punch and kick.

Master Jin burned the sand to push Anoh back and used large fire blast to keep him off balance.

Anoh erected a wall of fire to defend him. He pressed the wall forward and absorbed the other flames in its tracks. Jin instinctively divided the wall with his hands and pushed it away. In that split second Anoh leaped right in front of Jin and engulfed him in a giant fire blast.

"Ah," he screamed as he rolled onto his back. Still dazed he raised his hand in conceit and the fight was over. Once he caught his senses he stood and said, "Very good Anoh. You have come a long way and I am proud to have been your master."

"Thank you Master Jin. The sages have taught me well." They saluted each other and started off along the beach.

The memory suddenly flashed to a mountain top.

Anoh stood bending a sphere of air in his hands. He shot the air toward the distant clouds and watched them part as it passed.

To his right, he created a quack that divided mountain.

To his left, he cast a huge plume of fire.

He raised a nearby river into a wave ten feet tall and froze it in mid-air, make a wall of ice.

"It was 13 years of hard work. But the results were worth it." Aang watched in astonishment. He'd forgotten the power his past lives had, how strong they were. How strong he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III: Visitors

The vision of the mountain blinked out and they seemed to float in a white room. Aang waited a moment for the next memory to appear, but it didn't. He stared up at Anoh in confusion, "Is that all? What happened next?"

"Next, we are going to skip ahead a few years. After I became a fully realized Avatar, I returned to the Northern Air Temple to say goodbye to the monks. I had decided to marry Mako and live in the Earth Kingdom with her." The vision finally began to fade in slowly.

They were flying again. Bellow them was one of the most scenic places Aang had ever seen. "That was my home, over there."

Their home stood atop a hill overlooking a valley housing a large village. It was a midsized stone house with a small garden on the side. Large stone pillars held up the roof and the air nation symbol hung above a sliding door. Many of the homes around the village were much the same. They were all of different sizes and shapes, and had their own exterior look to them. But one thing Aang noticed was that they all had the air nation symbol above the door. Erected near the center of the village was a tall statue of Avatar Anoh.

A wide river divided the village and large snowcapped mountains surround them. A volcano stood behind Anoh's home.

"Wow, this is where you lived?" He looked down to see glance at all the people and buildings around.

"Yes. I created this village using the dense stone underneath. But I spent most my time up in the mountains where we're going now." The eagle veered off toward the top of the volcano. It wasn't long before Aang could see Anoh standing at the mouth of the volcano.

As they got closer, his eyes and tattoos glowed for a moment just like Aangs whenever he enters the avatar state. He motioned his body and pushed his hands in the air. The volcano erupted with a giant explosion and the lava climbed higher and higher into the air. He motioned his arms back down and the lava fell harmlessly back into the volcano.

A small bird descended from the sky and flew around him. It landed on his shoulder and spit a roll of parchment into his open hand. He read it silently to himself then took off down the mountain side on a sliding boulder.

Minutes later, he stopped the rock outside the village and walked the rest of the way to the village center. A group of people waited beneath his statue, his wife was among them. When she noticed him moving toward them she called, "There you are Anoh. Where have you been?" Aang found she reminded him of Toph; loud, demanding, and impatient.

"I was training at the volcano dear. The same place I always am at this time." He kissed her forehead.

"Again? Honestly Anoh, I think you spend way too much time training in those mountains. You're becoming a hermit you know." Now she sounded annoyed.

But Anoh only smiled as she went on. He was obviously used to hearing her talk like this.

"I will try and remember that. Now what's the problem?"

"Seems these men here need to have a talk with you." She pointed to the men behind her. There were four of them, and they all wore long robes with hoods that hide their faces.

Anoh studied them for a moment and stepped behind his wife. "Who are you?" They did not respond. "What do you want here?" Again, no response. Not a single motion at all.

He began to feel uneasy. The world had suddenly gone quiet. He felt the wind against his face and the trembling of those around.

Then their trembling stopped and the silence was replaced by terrified screams.

One of the figures hurled a handful of knifes at Anoh's head. Anoh made of shield of earth to absorb them and protect his self. Another figure broke the wall with his own bending as the others charged. As their blades moved to take his head, he blew them away with a strong wind. They recovered easily and Anoh noticed their hoods had been blown off.

Each of them was wearing a mask with a different animal face; a wolf, hawk, cat, and owl. Their eyes were the same blood red with a stare as cold as ice and a lust for blood. They wasted no time before continuing their attack. Swift and decisive, they attacked from all sides to cutoff any possible escape. Anoh's wind and fire blast were continuously blocked by their earthbending partner.

A quick slash from the wolfs' sword nearly took Anoh's head; the cat aimed to remove his leg with his spear. It was all he could do to evade their attacks, let alone find a time to use his bending to attack. He waited on an attack from the earthbender, and then noticed he was in the middle of a battle of his own; with Mako.

She easily deflected his attacks and ripped apart the earth under his feet. He stumbled back and hit the ground. The ground around him melted into sand came alive to attack him. He was trapped by sandy tentacles and pulled underneath the ground. His screams silence as the ground returned to its solid rock form, his owl mask left where he once stood.

Angered by his partners' demise, the wolf mask leapt in to attack from behind. His path was blocked by a wall of stone as his sword came in to strike. Mako turned and pushed the wall toward a nearby house. The wolf mask jump over the top to avoid being crushed, and dashed in to continue his attack.

Anoh was close by, handling the other attackers. He repelled every attempt they made to get close to him. When they pressed him to the river, he caught them in a tidal wave that carried them back to where his wife was fighting there partner. It dropped them next to their ally; Anoh took his place next to Mako.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?" The cat and hawk masks recovered to their feet. They stared into their opponent; their cold, red eye's had a renewed thirst for blood. Without words, the trio pounced again. Anoh's eyes became narrow. "That's enough." Effortlessly, he raised the surrounding puddles and froze them in a block of ice.

With the battle now over, villagers crept back out of their houses. Children ran around the ice block, laughing and playing as if nothing had happened. "What was that all about?" Mako asked.

Anoh's mind began to race. He knew these men were assassins sent to kill him, what he couldn't figure out were who sent them. "Maybe we should ask them."

"That won't be necessary Avatar Anoh." The voice belonged to a young man Anoh didn't recognize. Two other men walked closely behind him. "I know exactly who they are and why they attacked you."

"And, who might you be?"

"I am Prince Talouk of Omashu. I need your help Avatar Anoh."

They moved to Anohs' home to continue their talk. Prince Talouk told them that his father, King Bo Lin, was planning a campaign to expand his kingdom. That the assassin's they defeated were sent by the kings advisors to kill Anoh so he could not stop them. Anoh did nothing but listen, until the prince finished.

"So what are you going to do Avatar?"

"I find much of what you say hard to believe prince. I knew your father when he was young, during my time training in Omashu to master earthbending. The man you describe does not sound like him."

"Believe it or not, it is the truth. If you do not believe me, you can return to Omashu with me and confront him yourself."

He considered this for a moment. He did not want to believe Talouks words, but as the Avatar it was his duty to keep balance in the world. A war to expand territory would upset the balance within the Earth Kingdom. With that in mind his decision was made, "Very well Prince Talouk. I will accompany you to Omashu, and we will see how true your story is."

"Very well, we will depart tomorrow morning." They stood up, bowed to each other, and the prince left.

Anohs' mind raced about the possibility of a war in his life time. His wife's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know. I can't see why he would lie about this, but the possibility still exists. Guess I will find out soon enough."

"I'm going with you, just in case you need me."

Anoh turned to argue, than reconsidered. He noticed the determined look in her face and knew she would follow him no matter what he said. He kissed her gently and they walked together to their room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Conspiracy in Omashu

Anoh's memory shifted forward again. He and Mako had made it to Omashu and quickly gained an audience with the king. The airbenders face was stern while the king seemed slightly angry.

"Avatar Anoh, are you accusing me of a conspiracy to start a war within the Earth Kingdom? I do not appreciate the insult you have brought to my city."

"You misunderstand me King Po; I am not accusing you of anything. As I said, I am here to see if these rumors are true." The room shifted nervously. The kings' attendants and guards started whispering softly. None of their words could be heard, so Aang returned his attention to Anoh and the king. "I'm sure you understand, that if these rumors are true, that it is my duty to stop you from going through with those plans."

"I do understand your duty, Avatar. I too have a duty to fulfill Avatar Anoh; a duty to lead and protect the people of this city. I love Omashu Avatar. Why would I lead them into a war that would cost the lives of so many people?"

His words were strong and his eyes held merit. Aang could tell he was telling the truth, and he could see on his fellow air nomads face that he too believed him. Anoh continued to stare into the kings eyes; searching for any sign of deception. He looked to his wife and saw she felt the same. After all this is where she grew up, so she understood the love of their king.

"I apologize if I have offended you King Po." He bowed. The king stood and moved to stand in front of him.

The king bowed back and said, "There is nothing to forgive my friend. Now that that unpleasant business is out of the way, would you and your wife like to join me for dinner?"

The vision rushed away into the distance and was quickly replaced by another. Anoh was staring out a window he made on the far wall using earthbending, Mako was shifting the sheets on the bed around. She looked at her husband staring out the window, as though the answer to his thoughts could be found somewhere outside.

"It seems the prince was not telling the truth. I also noticed he didn't go in with us to speak with the king or show up for dinner."

"I noticed the same. I don't understand. Why would he bring us here under false pretense?"

"I believe I can answer that question for you Avatar." The unfamiliar voice snapped him back to reality. He looked around and saw another masked man standing in the doorway.

He blew the man back into the hall, then jump across the room to stand where the man had been. The man raised one hands in surrender and removed his mask with the other. "Please Avatar, hold your fire. I am here to help." Even as he heard the words, Anoh could not believe them.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Daru. I'm here to give you information."

Daru was allowed inside their room and sat on the floor. He placed his mask next to him and took a breath before starting. "I'm going to get straight to it; Prince Talouk is planning to kill the king. And I believe you as well."

Anoh said nothing. He had many questions but only one seemed important right now, "Why?"

"Why else; power. He wants to take the throne and then move the military out to expand Omashus' territory. Eventually as far as Ba Sing Se." He paused a moment to examine their reactions. "To do this, he knew he would need help. He spent months gathering assassins, pirates, and other criminals from around the world to become his own personal army. Our job was to eliminate obstacles within the Earth Kingdom to make this expansion easier. All leading up to a final operation." His eyes fell into his lap, his hands clenched into fist. "The final operation is the assassination of the Ba Sing Se hierarchy and King Po of Omashu. Tonight marks the beginning of the first phase of the plan, when Talouk kills his father and assumes the throne of Omashu."

"And then what?"

"Tomorrow morning, he sends word to his forces in Ba Sing Se. Ordering the assassination of the king and his top generals. From there his spies will take control of the palace and the city itself. The princes coup d'état will have succeeded and he will have control of the entire Earth Kingdom."

Anoh didn't move an inch. His mind was calculating how he was going to stop this from happening. He stood and began pacing softly around the room.

Mako interrupted his thoughts, "What about the people? The citizens of Ba Sing Se would never accept a foreign leader, even if he is of the Earth Kingdom."

"The people of Ba Sing Se go their whole lives without ever seeing the Earth King. Once he's replaced, they won't know the difference." He followed the Avatars movements as he spoke. Anoh's face was turned out of the window. He seemed to be paying no attention to Darus' words. "I know you that you...AH!"

Darus' mouth hung open. His eye's, wide with surprise, had lost their light completely. When his head fell forward they noticed a thin needle protruding from the back of his neck. He was dead.

Anoh shot his eye's to one of the air holes over the door as another needle flew to take out his wife. Using earthbending, he raised the floor behind her to absorb the attack. He extended his hands a pulled the wall toward inward. Their attacker fell helplessly onto the pile of collapsed earth. "It has begun. We have to get to King Po."

They cleared the earth away from the door and sprinted out of the room. They navigated the castle, trying to make their way to the kings' room. They soon found their way blocked by a stone wall and half a dozen more of the princes' assassins. Behind them they heard a lot more footsteps approaching quickly. "You have to hurry and get to the king. I will handle these guys."

She raised the floor into a giant boulder, then used it to demolish the wall ahead of them. The assassins tried a counter attack, but were overwhelmed by Anohs' firebending. Swiftly, he ran under the demolished wall and continued navigating the halls to the kings' chambers.

He found a set of large double doors at the end of a hall; four guards lying unconscious against the walls. He heard voices inside and noticed shadows between the cracks. He used a massive gust of air to blow the doors open. As he rushed in, he was relieved to find the king was not yet dead.

King Po and his son were sitting at a small table in the center of the room; their faces shared the same surprised look at the Avatars unexpected interruption. Anoh glared into the eyes of the prince. "Your plans end here prince."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V: Endgame

Avatar Anoh was standing like a marble statue in the doorway to the kings' chambers. His eye's remain planted on Prince Talouk.

"Avatar Anoh, what is the meaning of this?" The king naturally sounded outraged. But Anoh kept his eye's on the prince.

"Forgive the intrusion King Po, but I thought you would like to know that I have found the source of the rumors."

The kings' face did not change. To him this still was no reason to burst into the kings' bed chambers without invitation. "Is that so? And why could this not wait until the morning?"

"Because, your highness, the man behind them is none other than your son; Prince Talouk." The king turned to his son. "It's his plan to get me here so he could try to kill me again. Because the assassins he sent failed."

"What is he talking about?" The prince ignored his father. The king repeated his question, but Talouk refused to answer.

"Your son is planning to take over the Earth Kingdom by killing you and having his agents in Ba Sing Se assassinate the Earth King and the other leaders." The king stood from his chair and backed slowly away from the table. "He also tried to have me killed twice; once in my village and again just now. With all of us out of the gone, he would have no one to stand in his way when he took over."

The room went quiet for a moment. Then a wide grin stretched across the princes' face and he started to laugh. "Interesting, Avatar Anoh, just how did you find out all this?"

"One of your agents decided to pay me a visit. He told me all about your plans, and then one of your other agents killed him. I suspect on his way to deal with me."

"I see, well that's too bad." Talouk was now on his feet. He looked to his father, now standing behind Anoh, and his grin lessened. "I wasn't planning on killing my father personally, but now that you know all this, I have no choice but to kill you both myself." He snapped his fingers; on cue seven masked agents dropped from the ceiling with their weapons in hand. "These are my best warriors. They should prove more than a challenge for you."

The assassins charged in together. Anoh raised his hands and the ground began to quake violently. He stomped his foot against the stone floor causing a massive shockwave. The shockwave created a dust cloud that knocked back the assassins and darkened the room. "King Po, you need to go now. Find somewhere safe to hide." The king wasted no time clearing the room.

Once he was gone, Anoh cleared the dust from the room. His opponents had taken up positions around the room. They attacked separately from all directions, but they discovered it difficult to pin the airbender down to make connect a strike. Using his air, fire, and earthbending, Anoh traded blows back and forth with the assassins for several minutes. They surrounded him and tried another unified attack, this time leaping into the air to attack from above.

He didn't raise his head, didn't even raise his hands defend the coming attack. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep, calm breath of air. His eyes and tattoos glowed bright enough to blind the assassins for a moment. He widened his stance and extended his arms up to the ceiling. The ground shook more violently than before, than broke apart to release a geyser of water that easily knocked the assassins away.

The water circled around him to create a barrier between them. He manipulated the water into the form of a giant serpent. The sea dragon flew around the room and swallowed all seven of the masked assassins. Then returned its master and froze into an ice sculpture, looking down on its' next potential meal.

Prince Talouk became angry at the sight of his best warriors helpless in the belly of the dragon. "I see this is going to be more difficult than expected. Good, right now I prefer to kill you myself anyway. It will only further my greatness when I become king of the entire Earth Kingdom."

"You won't be king today or any day. I've told you, your plans are going to end here. Give up while you can prince, there's no reason for this to get worse."

"What's the matter Avatar? Are you afraid to stop me yourself?" Talouks grin was coming back as he mocked Anoh.

Anoh dropped his gaze a bit and his eye's lost some of their intensity. "As an Air Nomad, the monks always taught us that all life is sacred and must be respected. But you are attempting to dishonor those beliefs by killing your kin." The intensity returned, replaced by ferocity. "I will do what I must to protect those beliefs and this kingdom."

The grin stretched, "You will try." Several rocks sprung up from the ground and were hurled individually at Anoh.

Melting a piece of the ice, Anoh used waterbending to cut the rocks in mid-air. Talouk quaked the ground under the Avatars feet to produce a sharp spike that narrowly missed its target's face. Anoh struck back with a series of fire blasts that were intercepted by a rock wall. The ground trembled under the princes earthbending and released a swarm of spikes flowing outward in all directions. Anoh destroyed them with one super concentrated fire blast.

The explosion knocked the prince against the wall and rustled the entire castle. Talouk struggled to get up, determined to resume the fight. Anoh reset the floor to what it had been and moved to stand over the crippled prince. "Are you ready to give in now? You still have a chance to save yourself if you do."

"I will not lose to you. I am destined to become king of the Earth Kingdom." His eye's were so red they could start a fire. His teeth were gritting so tightly, they almost looked like they were ready to shatter from the pressure. But the only thing he found in Anohs' eyes were pity.

"I'm afraid you already have. And the only thing you'll be king of, is your own jail cell."

The sound of many footsteps echoed in the hall outside the room. Though he didn't look back, Anoh was relieved to hear his wife's voice. "Anoh!" Slowly, he turned his head to see who had come in with her.

Four palace guardsmen walked past the ice dragon to retrieve the prince. He watched them as they escorted him toward the door. Mako jump into her lovers arms and kissed him longingly. King Po waited his turn, and they shared a respectful bow. "Thank you Avatar Anoh, for saving my life and the life of my kinsmen in Ba Sing Se. You have my eternal gratitude and sincerest apologies for not seeing my son for what he is earlier." The King bowed again.

"It is fine your highness. It is over now." He let himself smile. The prince was moving past the ice dragon when he turned back to them. He stomped the ground and separated himself from the guards

In his hand was a thin needle like the one head seen earlier. He quickly loaded the needle inside a small bamboo stick and raised it too his mouth. Without thinking, Anoh raised his palms and called the dragon back to life. The needle was caught by its tail as it left the bamboo stick. The prince looked up in shock at the dragons' massive appearance. The dragons' crippling roar terrified and immobilized him as swooped down and swallowed him like the others. As it sailed across the floor it froze again; and upon hitting the wall, it shattered. There was nothing left of the great beast or the prince, except shards of ice.

Aang shivered at the site of it and was relieved when the vision faded away like the others. The empty space melted away to return them to the hexagon in the strange jungle. He and Anoh were sitting across from one another, just like when they started.

"Do you understand now?"

"I think so. You killed the prince because you were trying to protect the ways of the Air Nomads, and the lives of the Earth Kingdom royalty."

"Yes."

"But by killing the prince you ended up violating and betraying those beliefs."

"I understand your confusion and there is no simple answer. But as the Avatar, it is your duty to make the hard choices and deal with the difficult answers in order to protect the world. Here is my wisdom for you, 'If you truly respect life, then you will do what you must to protect it'." His spirit faded into nothing, with his final words of wisdom floating in the air.

Momo jumped down and sat next to Aang. "I guess I don't have a choice Momo; I have to kill the Firelord."


End file.
